Plan B

Why not try out one of the Plan B decks. The Californian skateboard company have the perfect test ground and team to put together an amazing range of boards. They have a really wide range of boards to choose from with many different graphics. Some of the best pros in the world like Ryan Sheckler, Torey Pudwill and Chris Cole are all on the skateboard team and have pro board available. Plan B are one of the biggest skate brands out there and are widely available in the UK.

The 2016 Plan B skateboard deck range go from the Team Tripper mini which is a really narrow 7.3 and slightly shorted than a full size board which is a great skateboard for kids that are just slightly too small for a full size board. The full size deck range starts at 7.6 with the Felipe Flashback deck which is a really great street board for all of your flip tricks up to a wide 8.75 Team OG Deck that is great for carving around the local park and have a really fun stable ride. The majority of the boards on offer from Plan B are around the 8 inch to 8.25 size which is the most popular size of skateboard at the moment.

After watching skateboard video clips and films like Plan B True you will probably have a good idea of what pros you really like and what style you would like to skate. Why not try one of their boards and see what it feels like. Often if you like the tricks and the style of skating you see then the deck will be the right one for you.

Deck graphics

Plan B decks range offer a huge variety of graphics. There are boards with the Plan B logo embedded in different art works and colour schemes like the Riot Cole 8.25 and boards with individual graphics like the Anatomy Cole 8. With so many different boards produced every year they are bound to have a board with the graphics you like.

A lot of the Plan B decks are made from a 6 ply set up that gives good strength and lots of pop to get maximum height on your tricks on your skateboard. As well as this there are new board construction technologies that we have talked about below if you want to try something different.

A bit of skateboard history

The Plan B skateboard deck originally hit the skate scene in the early 90’s with a formidable brand and riders to go with it. With the involvement of Rodney Mullen and Steve Rocco it was always going to be a strong brand with many skaters coming across from H Street Skateboards. After the sad death of the founder Mike Ternasky in 1994 the brand started to decline.

The legendary skaters Colin Mckay and Danny Way restarted the skateboard brand in 2005 with a goal of building an amazing team of skaters. They achieved this and have released many pro skateboard products over the years. Since then the Plan B Skateboards team have been at the forefront of skating with riders like Chris Cole, Danny Way and Felipe Gustavo all showing us different styles of skateboarding to the highest levels. Along with building a really strong skateboard team they have built some of the finest skateboard decks available which are widely used across the world.

Skateboard deck technology

Plan B skateboards are always pushing out new ideas and technologies into the skateboard industry. Here are a few of the decks that are built using some of those technologies:

Plan B BLK ICE decks

Plan B decks have a new range of decks to help the board slide better. We all use wax on our standard build decks to increase the speed and smoothness of skating a rail. There is nothing worse than coming up for a board slide and hitting a sticky patch that sends you flying off the front or suddenly hitting a fast patch and sliding off the back. Plan B decks have come up with the BLK ICE coating for the bottom of the board to help overcome the uneven rails and curbs. The added bonus with this is that it makes the board stronger and helps it keep its pop for longer so the board will feel like a new deck for a long time. This is important for most of us who don’t get free decks every month and need to try and make our set ups last a long time as well as skating them hard and learning all of the new tricks. The Plan B pros have been using and testing these boards for a couple of years so they should be up to a high standard when they hit the skate shops.

Its great to see the big skateboard companies like Plan B pushing on with deck technology. A lot of things don’t work but they need to be tried to develop the skateboard industry. The BLK ICE decks seem like a really good improvement and one that could benefit skaters in a number of ways including saving money. It will also stop us having to carry a bar of wax around with us all of the time, there is nothing more annoying than turning up to skate and forgetting the wax. These decks should end that!

Graphics look a lot different with the BLK ICE boards. They make the skateboard graphics shiny and protects them for longer. This is great if you like the look of your board. Most boards only look good for a matter of days before the graphics are worn out by rail scuffs. These should look better for a little while longer!

Flashback Series: Prospec skateboard deck technology

The Flashback series offers some pretty cool retro design graphics using tie dye patterns, they come in a range of colours and pro models. The decks are made with the Prospec skateboard deck technology which is designed to make the boards thinner, lighter and stronger. These boards have tons of pop and contribute to a really light set up if combined with lighter trucks and wheels. Size are from 7.6 to 8.25 so should cover a lot of the skater out there. They look great and should add a lot to your set up.

Their is a whole range of decks available with the BLK ICE coating from Tory Pudwill, Felipe Gustavo, Chris Cole and Ryan Sheckler ranging in size from 7.6 right up to 8.5.

Some reasons to ride a Plan B Skateboard Deck

There are too many reason to ride Plan B decks to list. Here are a few that will definitely make you want to go to the skate shop and pick up one of the latest skateboards. Hopefully our plan b deck review will have given you enough reasons so far but if not, read on!

Some of the best pros on the team

Plan B has some of the best pros currently and over the years on the team. These skaters are feeding back valuable information on the products which is used to develop some of the best decks on the market. As the new skateboard trends in tricks come and go the team are mastering all of the latest moves and the best decks to do them.

Testing the decks before they go to the shops

Having such a good team of skaters means that the products can be tested for a long time before they go to market, the decks will be put through their pace with some really aggressive skating so when you eventually buy one of the skateboards at the shop you know it will be able to take whatever you can throw at it!

Constantly evolving deck technology

A big company like Plan B skateboards has a the ability to try lots of new technologies as it offers so many different boards. Its important to move forward with different ways to build decks and new materials as well as trying new deck sizes and shapes. All of the learning from these different types of deck go into the building of a quality end product. Boards such as the BLK ICE range and Prospec deck technology are some of the new ones available.

Riding a cool brand

Plan B decks are a really cool skateboard product that are seen in many top skate videos and used by some of the best skaters in the world. Team riders like Danny Way setting the record for the largest air in the world are great endorsements for the product and makes them a really popular brand. Video parts in films like Plan B True also add to the kudos of the brand and skaters making the decks really desirable.

Our skateboard reviews try and offer a good insight into which deck is for you. We hope this helps!